Eberron - Dreams of Xen'drik

Pra'Xirek

The lost giant city of Pra’Xirek lies undiscovered somewhere in mysterious Xen’drik. According to legends and rumor, Pra’Xirek was a center of worship for the ancient giants, and was apparently a repository for the vast treasures and wealth of the cleric caste. A variety of landmarks and waypoints remain scattered around Xen’drik, possibly showing the way to the city to those intrepid enough to follow them.

In ancient times, Pra’Xirek was a temple city where the Giants worshiped the dragons that had ascended and become gods. They also worshiped the darker forces beneath the earth, and secret temples to the Dragon Below and the Lords of Dust deep beneath the city in Khyber were as prevalent as the overt temples to the draconic gods above. The giants of Pra’Xirek did not allow their slaves to walk the streets unattended, but rather than escort their servants everywhere they needed to go, they created a network of tunnels beneath the streets that would allow the smaller elf slaves to travel as needed without giving offense to their betters.

During the Quori invasion and the later Dragon Wars, the city was a major battleground. The Giant cleric castes trained their adherents within the city, and the opposing armies sought more than once to raze it and deny their enemies the support of the gods.

Tens of thousands of years later, Pra’Xirek still stands, hidden in the jungle by the effects of the Traveler’s curse. The jungle works to hide the city, and has encroached on it’s streets and buildings as much as it can. As nature works to reclaim the city and bury it’s secrets, an evil force works from below to either repel nature or warp it’s effects, keeping the jungle in check and the city intact.

The city is once again contested territory, this time fought over by Drow, giants, yuan-ti and even terrible aberrations from Khyber, all seeking to command it’s secrets. The giants are primitive tribes, loosely organized by neighborhood and internal rivalries, and all subservient to an eldritch giant named Ommadon who occupies a floating ruin high above the city. Ommadon demands regular tribute from the tribes, giving favor to those who bring the largest hauls of magic items and dragonshards. He keeps the lesser giants under control for the most part, preventing any one faction from gaining too much power.

The Ka’ki’kur Drow consider Pra’Xirek to be theirs by right of inheritance. Once the giants were defeated, they reason, they lost the right to control the city. Enforcing that claim has proven to be much more difficult, however, and the Drow have been forced to live a semi-nomadic existence, moving constantly around the city and raiding and stealing what they can from the giants.

The yuan-ti are relative newcomers to the city, but they are no less of a threat. They moved into the city in search of an ancient relic at the behest of their mysterious master, who turned out to be a Mind Flayer from the depths of Khyber. While in the city, they took over various locations and set about experimenting on the local Drow, twisting their flesh into terrible abominations in an attempt to make them more snake-like, and propagate their race.